Rich Hole Wilderness is a designated

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

in the James River Ranger District of the

George Washington and Jefferson National Forests The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Moun ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in the United States. The wilderness area was established in 1988 and comprises . It is administered by the

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

Topography

Rich Hole Wilderness is located west of

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, just off of

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

. Rich Hole Wilderness ranges in elevation from to . The wilderness is named after the drainage "holes" in Brushy Mountain. The Rich Hole Wilderness drainages, the North Branch of Simpson Creek and Alum Creek, are tributaries of the Calfpasture River, which feeds into the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

and the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

History

The Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-586) designated four study areas including the Rich Hole Wilderness, and directed a two-year study by EPA and the State of Virginia on the effects of a proposed development on air quality of the four areas. Under the Clean Air Act, newly designated wilderness areas are only automatically reclassified as PSD Class I if they expand existing mandatory Class I areas. The members of the Virginia congressional delegation were apparently satisfied with the conclusions, and subsequently designated these areas (along with two other areas) as wilderness in 1988 (P.L. 100-326). The Forest Service in 2009 was working on a revision to its Forest Plan for the George Washington National Forest that proposed adding wilderness acreage to the Rich Hole Wilderness western boundary.Forest Service Summary Plan of 2009 Revision Issues
/ref> The Forest Service stated that " e Rich Hole Addition offers the opportunity to expand the acreage of a small existing Wilderness and almost connect the Rich Hole Wilderness to the Rough Mountain Wilderness."

Vegetation

Rich Hole Wilderness supports

old growth An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

white ash and

northern red oak ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

along a stream within its boundaries.Old Growth in the East: A Survey (Online Ed.) by Mary Bird Davis
A portion of Rich Hole Wilderness is one of ten sites in Virginia designated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

as a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

(NNL). A parcel within Rockbridge County was dedicated as an NNL in 1974, and is described by the National Park Service as "An outstanding example of a 'cove' hardwood forest. A well-protected watershed containing a virgin forest with remarkably large trees of several species."

Wildlife

In 1958, an inspection team from the Wilderness Society recommended the suitability of Rich Hole as a wild area based almost exclusively on its large bear population.“Rich Hole Wilderness can last a day or all night”
– Roanoke.com Common wildlife found in Rich Hole Wilderness include

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

, black bear,

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

and

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

, among others.

Recreation

A guide to Virginia wilderness areas describes hunting as "by far the most popular activity" in Rich Hole Wilderness. Although trailheads are very close to Interstate 64, hiking is mostly limited to day hikes. There are no loop trails in the wilderness, so hikes on established trails require a vehicle shuttle or an out-and-back hike. The only maintained trail through the center of the wilderness is the Rich Hole Trail. From its northern trailhead, the trail ascends very steeply to the top of the mountain, then descends gradually to the southern trailhead for a total length. Because of multiple stream crossings on the southern portion of the trail, use during the spring can be difficult. A second trail, the White Rock Tower Trail, forms the southern boundary of the wilderness area.George Washington and Jefferson National Forests: White Rock Tower Trail
/ref> This trail uses the roadbed of an old road that went up to the site of a former fire tower at the top of Mill Mountain.

References

External links

National Forest Web siteWilderness.net

TopoQuest topographic map of Rich Hole
{{authority control Protected areas of Alleghany County, Virginia IUCN Category Ib Wilderness areas of Virginia George Washington and Jefferson National Forests Protected areas of Rockbridge County, Virginia National Natural Landmarks in Virginia